Jeffrey Schmitz

Jeffrey Schmitz, a six-year professional setter, National Champion and alumni of the University of California, Irvine. After he graduated in 2011, Schmitz played with professional volleyball clubs in Brazil, Finland and Austria.

Schmitz has been coaching volleyball for 22 years. He started his coaching career on the club level in St. Louis at High Performance, and worked his way up to the NCAA Division 1 level as an assistant coach for the UC Davis women's team. Schmitz has served as a youth coach internationally as well as universities across the United States, including the University of Illinois and Stanford University.

With a sharp eye for detail, Schmitz brings a seasoned level of expertise. His love for furthering the game and developing athletes is serious, yet his approach to the game is a playful one. Schmitz brings a level of creativity to the court as he sees it as his playground. He frequently incorporates innovative approaches and different tools to help athletes develop their skills.

Being coached by Schmitz is often described as “focused fun” and his athletes see improvements quickly from his high impact solutions to challenges. To support these efforts, video playback and analysis are regularly used. Using video helps his athletes make changes in real time. Schmitz also offers his athletes to send game video for analysis, too.

In addition to game skills, Schmitz mentors his athletes through mindset work. Journaling, reframing, confidence building and offering new perspectives are all regularly incorporated into his coaching. He understands that what’s happening in the mind can impact how the body performs. Beyond awareness, Schmitz offers solutions to these challenges, developing balanced, well rounded athletes.